alpha guide - younger youth

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TO THE YOUTH ALPHA GUEST MANUAL 6

CHRISTIANITY: BORING, UNTRUE, IRRELEVANT? 8

WHO IS JESUS? 16

WHY DID JESUS DIE? 28

HOW CAN WE HAVE FAITH? 36

WHY AND HOW DO I PRAY? 44

WHY AND HOW SHOULD I READ THE BIBLE? 52

HOW DOES GOD GUIDE US? 60

WHAT ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT? 70

HOW CAN I BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT? 78

HOW CAN I MAKE THE MOST OF THE REST OF MY LIFE? 88

HOW CAN I RESIST EVIL? 96

WHY AND HOW SHOULD I TELL OTHERS? 104

DOES GOD HEAL TODAY? 114

WHAT ABOUT THE CHURCH? 126

134

136When you see a word that's coloured like this check out the

handy look-up page at the back of the manual to see what it means

WELCOME

INTRODUCTORY SESSION

SESSION 1

SESSION 2

SESSION 3

SESSION 4

SESSION 5

SESSION 6

WEEKEND SESSION 1

WEEKEND SESSION 2

WEEKEND SESSION 3

SESSION 7

SESSION 8

SESSION 9

SESSION 10

PRAYER OF COMMITMENT

HANDY LOOK-UP PAGE

CONTENTS

WELCOMEThere are so many questions in life – some of them will be in your head already (like, why can’t I lick my elbow?) and some of them you simply won’t have thought of yet (is it ever going to be possible to build a giant elevator to the moon one day?). (OK you may have thought of that one already – but you know what we mean.)

Some of them are pretty easy to answer (can I do long division in my head?), or at least easy to find out the answer to (what is consistently the biggest-selling book in the world?), whereas some of them are really, really tricky and we might never get a perfect answer (what happens when I pray?).

8

It’s good to ask questions. It doesn’t mean we have to be able to answer them all.

Lots of the questions that people find really tricky to answer are actually to do with God. So we decided to look at some of them on the Youth Alpha course and we’ve put this manual together so you have something to look at and write your thoughts in.

It’s all part of the journey to help YOU find out what YOU really think.

9

CHRISTIANITY:BORING, UNTRUE, IRRELEVANT?10

INTRODUCTORY SESSION

11

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT?

Is Christianity boring?

• Jesus says he came to give us life, but not a boring life at all – in fact a life that’s really full! Jesus said, ‘I am … the life.’ (John 14:6)

Christianity is named after Jesus Christ who lived about 2000 years ago. Jesus said that God exists and has a purpose for our lives.

Ever thought about that?

INTRODUCTORY SESSION CHRISTIANITY: BORING, UNTRUE, IRRELEVANT?

12

Is Christianity irrelevant?

• Jesus said, ‘I am the way’ (John 14:6). With Jesus, we can expect a life full of purpose, fun, direction and meaning

It doesn’t mean easy, but it does mean

fUll.

Is Christianity untrue?

• Truth isn’t such a popular idea today. Jesus said, ‘I am … the truth’ (John 14:6). He didn’t say a truth, but the truth

CHRISTIANITY: BORING, UNTRUE, IRRELEVANT? INTRODUCTORY SESSION

13

What if you're a really good person, but you

get into a really, really bad fight and your leg

gets gangrene and it has to be amputated.

Will it be waiting for you in heaven?

BART SIMPSON

SAID...

When you have eliminated the impossible,

whatever remains, however improbable,

must be the truth.

ARThuR CONAN

DOyle SAID...

(he wROTe The DeTeCTIve STORIeS

ABOuT SheRlOCk hOlMeS)


14

[John 14:6]

Jesus Christ said:

WAYTRUTH

lIfE.

I am the

and the

and the


15

If IT TURNED OUT THAT GOD EXISTS AND YOU COUlD ASK GOD ONE QUESTION...

...WHAT WOUlDIT BE?


16

Why don’t you write down your question for God here, and see if it gets answered during the course?

OR MAyBe yOu've gOT lOTS Of queSTIONS? If yOu wRITe

TheM DOwN, yOu COulD keeP The BOOk TIll yOu’Re 70 AND See

hOw MANy geT ANSweReD.

OR, yOu COulD gO AND ASk SOMeONe whO’S SeveNTy AND See whAT TheIR queSTION IS.


17

WHO IS JESUS?

18

1SESSION19

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS PERSON, JESUS? PEOPLE ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT HIM MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS AFTER HE LIVED.Did Jesus actually exist?

Most scholars, whether Christians or not, agree on the following points about Jesus Christ:• He was a Jewish man, born in Bethlehem in Judea

around 4 BC

• He was famous for being a great teacher and miracle worker

• He was crucified (killed by being hung on a cross) by the Romans

• His followers believed he was the Son of God and that he came back to life after his death and burial

SESSION 1 WHO IS JESUS?

20

Was Jesus more than just a ‘good man?’

Jesus made some pretty big claims about himself and did incredible stuff:

• He said that anyone who had seen him had seen God (John 14:9)

• He said ‘I am the resurrection and the life’ – meaning he would beat death for us and give us life that lasts forever [John 11:25]

• He went around forgiving sins and healing people – in Mark 2:5 he said to someone, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ People believed that only God could forgive sin

So was Jesus mad, bad or God?

We have three possibilities to think about:

1. Jesus wasn’t God, and knew he wasn’t: so he was lying. He was a fraudster, a bad person

2. Jesus wasn’t God but just thought he was: so he was a deluded, mad person

3. Jesus was telling the truth: he really is God

What do you think?• Jesus coming back to life three days after he died

(called the resurrection) supports his claims. If it’s true, it is proof that he really is God

LOOK!

There are

over 300 Old

Testament

prophecies

(predictions)

about things

like Jesus' birth,

his mother, his

death and his

burial – and

every single one

of them came

true.

WHO IS JESUS? SESSION 1

21

Conspiracy theories about Jesus’ death on the cross

Conspiracy theory one – Jesus didn’t really die

Some people have argued that Jesus didn’t really die on the cross – he only passed out from the pain and exhaustion.

They believe that when he was taken off the cross and laid down in a comfortable position in a cool tomb he simply recovered consciousness, got up and walked off.

Coming back to life three days after you’ve died is pretty incredible and definitely not normal – so it’s understandable that people have a lot to say on the matter! There are many different theories about what actually happened.

These facts about Jesus are agreed by everybody, believer and sceptic alike:

fACT 1 The Romans crucified JesusfACT 2 Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb that was closed with a large stone and guarded by soldiersfACT 3 On the third day after Jesus’ death, the tomb was found to be emptyfACT 4 The belief that Jesus had been raised from the dead spread through the known world


22

Conspiracy theory two – the disciples stole the body

Some people believe that in the middle of the night the disciples crept up and overpowered the sleepy Roman guards.

They then rolled the stone away from the entrance to the tomb, picked up Jesus’ lifeless body and disappeared into the night.

They started the rumours that Jesus had risen from the dead in order to make themselves seem more important. Throughout the rest of their lives they never let on to anyone what they had done.

Conspiracy theory three – the authorities secretly removed Jesus’ body

Some people think that the Jewish and Roman authorities worked together to steal and get rid of Jesus’ body; perhaps because they didn’t want the tomb to become a religious shrine or holy place constantly crowded with Jesus’ old followers.

They simply took the body and buried it somewhere else, somewhere secret.


23

PROBLEMS WITH THESE Conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theory one – Jesus didn’t really die

Even before being hung on the cross Jesus was brutally beaten and tortured.

Roman soldiers, who knew from experience when their victims were dead, carried out the crucifixion.

Dead bodies in those days were wrapped like mummies in cloth.

To escape the tomb Jesus would have had to get out of the grave clothes, roll away a heavy stone and fight the soldiers.


24

One more thing...

None of these theories can account for the fact that over 500 people are reported to have seen Jesus alive in the weeks following his crucifixion.

Conspiracy theory two – the disciples stole the body

The disciples were scared and confused; it’s unlikely they were thinking of a daring rescue operation.

It is very unlikely that the disciples could have physically overpowered the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb.

It is believed that all the disciples were eventually killed for their belief in Jesus’ resurrection. Surely at least one of them would have confessed the truth to save his own skin?

Conspiracy theory three – the authorities secretly removed Jesus’ body

The authorities hated the fast spreading belief that Jesus was alive and had risen from the dead.

If they’d had the body, or had known where it was, they would simply have produced it and thrown it down in a public place to prove to everyone that Jesus really was dead.

They didn’t do this, so we have to assume that they didn’t have the body.


25

C.S. lewIS SAID...

(C.S. lewIS wROTe The NARNIA

BOOkS)

A man who was merely a man and said

the sort of things Jesus said wouldn’t be a

great moral teacher; he’d either be insane

or else he’d be the devil of hell. You must

make your choice. Either this man was

and is the Son of God or else insane or

something worse. But don’t let us come

up with any patronising nonsense about

his being a great human teacher. He

hasn’t left that open to us. He didn’t

intend to.


26

[John 10:10]

Jesus Christ said:

lIfE,fUll.

I have come that they may have

and have it to the


27

WHO DO YOU THINK JESUS IS?


28

• What do you think it would be like if Jesus was your teacher?

• Do you think it would be interesting?

• Do you think what he said over 2000 years ago would be the same as he would say to us today?

I ThINk JeSuS wAS ...


29

WHY DID JESUS DIE?30

2SESSION

31

why would anyone wear A CROSS – an instrument of death and torture – as jewellery?

What's the problem?

• The problem is sin. In other words, we’ve all 'messed up'

• The Bible tells us that God really wants to have a perfect friendship with us

• God created us perfect – without any bad stuff. As long as we are clean, we can have a relationship with him

• But the problem is that none of us is perfect. We’ve all messed up. And this sin separates us from God

LOOK!

Jesus said: ‘If the Son

sets you free, you are

truly free.’

(John 8:36, NLT)

SESSION 2 WHY DID JESUS DIE?

32

What's the solution?

• God’s Son Jesus was the only human who never did anything wrong – he was perfect

• When Jesus died on the cross, he was given the punishment that we actually deserve for the stuff we do wrong. It’s a tricky thing to understand, but he died for us

• So that means we can now be free to have that relationship, or friendship, with God. We’re not separated, by our mess, from God anymore

What's the result?

• Jesus overcame death – he died on the cross, but then came back to life. You can read about it in Mark 16 in the Bible

• If we believe that Jesus died on the cross for us, and if we say sorry for the things that we have done wrong, we can start to have an exciting relationship with God

WHY DID JESUS DIE? SESSION 2

33

What Jesus did on the

cross is a bit like this:

Everyone starts off wearing

a clean t-shirt, and when you do

something bad, it’s as if your

t-shirt gets dirty. Jesus always

has a clean t-shirt because

he never did anything bad.

When he died on the cross

for us he took off his clean

t-shirt, gave it to us to put on

and put on our dirty ones. Jesus

wipes our slate clean and gives us

a fresh start.

MAX, 11 AND JONNy, 13...


34

lOVED THE WORlD

God

so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

[John 3:16, NIrV]

LOOK!

Sometimes in big crowds you'll see people

walking around with John 3:16 on a placard.


35

HOW DO YOU fEEl ABOUT THE IDEA THAT GOD WANTS TO BE IN RElATIONSHIP WITH

YOU?


36

why DON’T yOu SPeND A few MINuTeS ThINkINg ABOuT

ThAT AND wRITe DOwN yOuR ThOughTS ...


37

HOW CAN WE HAVE FAITH?

38

3SESSION

39

What the Father promises

• The Bible is a written record of God’s love for us. Even if we aren’t feeling loved, the good news is, we can know that God loves us because it says so in the Bible

• God promises that he will come in to our lives and help us – all we have to do is ask him!

• God promises that he will be with us forever (Matthew 28:20). He promises to give us eternal life with him in heaven (John 10:28)

DOES GOING TO CHURCH MAKE YOU A CHRISTIAN?Christian faith is based on three people: God the Father, Jesus (God’s Son) and the Holy Spirit. This is called the ‘Trinity’.

Each person of the Trinity is important in making our faith secure (a bit like three legs on a stool means it won’t fall over).

LOOK!

Water, ice and steam

are each different, but

they are all H20. It’s a

bit like that with the

Trinity: the Father,

Son and Holy Spirit are

three people, yet they

are all God.

SESSION 3 HOW CAN WE HAVE FAITH?

40

What the Spirit does• The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in the world and in our

lives

• When someone becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit comes to live in them and help them. This means we begin to live and act more like Jesus did, which is brilliant!

• The ways we start to change, like our behavior and our thoughts, are described in the Bible as the ‘fruit’ of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). But it takes time – just like real fruit growing

What Jesus did

• Jesus was unique. By dying on the cross, he made it possible for us to have a relationship with God. He took the blame for everything we’ve ever done wrong

• Because of what Jesus did, every time we do something wrong, we can sincerely pray to God to forgive us and he says that he will

Conclusion

• Becoming a Christian involves faith, but not blind faith

• Faith is daring to believe God’s promises

LOOK!

Jesus doesn’t force anyone to let him in to their life – the choice is ours.

HOW CAN WE HAVE FAITH? SESSION 3

41

Our feelings go up and down

depending on the day, the week

and the mood we’re in. But we

don’t base our faith on how we

are feeling day-by-day, although

that is important. We can base

our faith on what God promises

us in the Bible.


42

EVERlASTING

GOD

The Lord is the

Do you not know?Have you not heard?

[Isaiah 40:28]

the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.


43

IS THERE MORE TO MAKING A DECISION THAN JUST WHAT YOU ‘fEEl’?


44

John Patton was a Scot who travelled all the way from Scotland to a group of islands in the South West Pacific so that he could tell the tribal people about Jesus. He wanted to translate the Bible into their tribal language.

The islanders were cannibals (people who eat other people!) and his life was in constant danger. When Patton tried to translate the Bible into the tribal language he found there was no word for ‘belief’ or ‘trust’. Nobody trusted anybody else (not surprising really!) and as a result they didn’t have the word in their language.

Finally, when one of the tribal people came in to his study, he thought of a way to find the word he was looking for. Patton raised both his feet off of the ground, leant back in his chair and asked the man, ‘What am I doing now?’ The servant gave him a word that means ‘to lean your whole weight upon’. This was the word Patton used in his translation of the Bible.

That’s what faith is – leaning all our weight on God – putting all our trust in him and letting him support us. It’s saying, ‘Ok Jesus, I really want to hear what you think about stuff. What do you think I should do? Will you guide me? I choose to listen.’

Lean Upon


45

WHY AND HOW DO I PRAY?46

4SESSION

47

OFTEN, WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN, PEOPLE DECIDE TO PRAY. WHY?

What is Prayer?

• Prayer is like having a ‘speed dial’ to God

• We pray:

- to the Father – God is our ‘dad’ and he is also holy and powerful (Matthew 6:6)

- through the Son – Jesus is our link to God the Father (Ephesians 2:18)

- by the Holy Spirit – the Holy Spirit helps us to pray (Romans 8:26)

Why Pray?

• Jesus prayed to God – and he told us to pray as well (Luke 6:12)

• Talking to God is how we develop a relationship with him – imagine having a friend that you never actually talk to! That would never work!

• Prayer really does change situations (Matthew 7:7–11)

SESSION 4 WHY AND HOW DO I PRAY?

48

How to pray?

• We can pray anytime, anywhere. Try THIS SIMPLE PRAYER (TSP):

T – Thank you: start by thinking of at least one thing to thank God for

S – Sorry: say sorry for what you have done wrong

P – Please: ask God for what you, and other people, need. Ask for help

Does God always answer my prayers?

• God’s answer might be ‘yes’, ‘no’, or he might say, ‘wait’. But he always hears us; he would never just ignore us

• God can’t answer all prayers with a ‘yes’ – if you think about it, both teams can’t win the same football match. And sometimes God just knows what’s best for us (even if we don’t agree at the time)

• We might need to ask ourselves if there is stuff we need to deal with first. Maybe we need to forgive someone, or we need to ask for forgiveness. Perhaps our motives are wrong (we are asking for something selfishly). These things can make it hard for us to hear what God is saying

LOOK!

Nothing is too

difficult for God.

He always has

the best possible

plans for us

(Matthew 7:11).

WHY AND HOW DO I PRAY? SESSION 4

49

MARTIN luTheR SAID...

(geRMAN PRIeST AND SChOlAR)

Pray, and let God worry.

When I pray, coincidences happen,

and when I don't pray, they don't.

AN ARChBIShOP

ONCe SAID...

(wIllIAM TeMPle, fORMeR

ARChBIShOP Of CANTeRBuRy)


50

Jesus saidThis, then, is how you should pray:

[Matthew 6:9–13]

OUR fATHER in heaven,

fORGIVE US our debts,

your will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven.

your KINGDOM COME,

HAllOWED BE your name,

GIVE US today our daily bread,

And lEAD US not into temptation,

AS WE also HAVE fORGIVEN our debtors.

but DElIVER US from the evil one.


51

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST THING ABOUT THE IDEA Of PRAYER?


52

Some people find it easier to write their prayers down – like a letter to God.

You could try writing a prayer now using the T S P guide tohelp you.

DeAR gOD,

ThANk yOu fOR

SORRy ABOuT

PleASe helP Me wITh

PleASe helP My fRIeND/fAMIly MeMBeR wITh

IN JeSuS' NAMe,

AMeN


53

WHY AND HOW SHOULD I READ THE BIBLE?54

5SESSION

55

An instruction manual for life

• The Bible is a big book, but it’s exciting – it’s the story of God, his love for the world and the humans who live in it. In fact, there is sex, romance, war, revenge, love, sacrifice and murder!

• God has designed the Bible to be like a compass for us – it provides us with direction in life

• It’s not an ordinary book. We talk about it being ‘God-breathed’, meaning, even though humans wrote the words, it was God who inspired them to know what to write (2 Timothy 3:15–17)

CAN A BOOK FROM 2,000 YEARS AGO STILL HAVE ANY RELEVANCE TO OUR LIVES TODAY?

SESSION 5 WHY AND HOW SHOULD I READ THE BIBLE?

56

A way to relationship

• The Bible is the main way that God speaks to us and guides us

How do we hear God speak through the Bible?

• Choose a place where you are relaxed and where you won’t be disturbed or get distracted

• Begin by praying – ask God to speak to you through what you read. Why not start by reading the story of Jesus – in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John

• Ask yourself three key questions about the text: What does this say? What does this mean? What does this mean for my life?

WHY AND HOW SHOULD I READ THE BIBLE? SESSION 5

57

SIR ISAAC NewTON

SAID...(he wAS A SCIeNTIST, fAMOuS fOR

hIS wORk ON gRAvITy)

PSAlM 119:105 SAyS.. .

(The MeSSAge)

I have a fundamental belief in

the Bible as the Word of God,

written by men who were

inspired. I study the Bible

daily.

By your words I can see where I’m going; they

throw a beam of light on my dark path.


58

GOD-BREATHED.[2 Timothy 3:16]

SCRIPTURE ISAll


59

If THE BIBlE IS A BIT lIKE AN INSTRUCTION MANUAl fOR lIfE...DO YOU THINK THAT RESTRICTS OR INCREASES fREEDOM?


60

Nicky Gumbel, the person who pioneered the Alpha Course, told this story:

When I was twenty-one we went on a family trip to the Soviet Union. I had read that Christians were persecuted there and it was very hard to get hold of Bibles.

Full of enthusiasm, I wrote to an organisation that I knew helped smuggle Bibles into places like that. I sent them some money and said that I wanted to take some Bibles with me when I went to Russia.

I got two replies. The official reply read ‘So sorry, we can’t supply you with any Bibles it’s illegal to take them into Russia, and we suggest that you don’t do so.’ The second was the unofficial reply: I saw on my doorstep an unmarked brown paper parcel containing Russian Bibles. So, feeling like James Bond, I packed these Bibles into my case.

When I got to Russia, we went into a church. In those days, the KGB (the Russian Secret Police) often went into the church to spy. I tried to spot someone who looked like a genuine Christian. I saw a man, probably in his sixties, whose face was really shining. So I followed him out of the church and down the street where it was completely deserted.

There, I took out of my pocket a complete Russian Bible and handed it to him. In turn, he took out of his pocket a copy of just the New Testament, probably a hundred years old as the pages were threadbare. When he saw a whole Bible, he started literally jumping and dancing for joy. He hugged me! I didn’t speak any Russian and he didn’t speak any English but we ran up and down the streets, jumping for joy! That man knew that he had in his hands something truly unique.

Smuggled Bibles


61

HOW DOES GOD GUIDE US?62

6SESSION

63

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL BE DOING WHEN YOU ARE 25? WHAT DECISIONS WILL YOU HAVE TO MAKE ALONG THE WAY?

Christians try to follow the ways God guides them.

If we are struggling with a particular problem and don’t know what to do, God promises to show us – we just need to ask

and then listen to him.

So how does God guide us?

SESSION 6 HOW DOES GOD GUIDE US?

64

Through the Bible

• If we read the Bible regularly, then God will often remind us of a particular bit we have read at just the right time to guide us in a decision

By the Holy Spirit

• The Holy Spirit helps us to hear God’s voice. God speaks to us as we pray – perhaps through an overall feeling, or a sense of what is right. We can check this with someone we trust if we’re not sure

Through advice from others

• There are times when we need help to make the right choices in life. God has given us friends and family to help us make important decisions

Through common sense

• God has given us a conscience and a brain, and he wants us to use them! If something seems like a stupid or hurtful idea, then it probably is!

Through random signs

• God sometimes uses ‘coincidences’ and random stuff to speak to us as well. So if you think a significant ‘coincidence’ has happened, ask God if he was showing you anything and check with someone you trust as well

HOW DOES GOD GUIDE US? SESSION 6

65

JACkIe PullINgeR SAID...

(She IS A MISSIONARy whO wORkS wITh

DRug ADDICTS IN hONg kONg)

God wants us to have soft hearts and hard

feet. The trouble with so many of us is we

have hard hearts and soft feet.


66

I HAVE IT

planned out –All

I know what I'm doing.

plans to give you the

future youHOPE fOR.

not abandon you

plans to take care of

YOU,

[Jeremiah 29:11, The Message]


67

HOW DO YOU fEEl ABOUT THE IDEA Of BEING GUIDED BY GOD?


68



whAT ARe SOMe Of The ThINgS yOu wOulD lIke gOD TO helP guIDe

yOu wITh?


69

In the early 1950s, Chad Varah was the vicar of a very busy church near Clapham Junction in London. He had this idea of a telephone hotline, but he didn’t think he was the right person to get it started because he was so busy. So he said to God, ‘I’m not the person to do this. I think you need someone from a church in the City’ (London’s financial district). Churches in the City have very few parishioners, and therefore the vicars have more time available.

A few days later, he was invited to become the vicar of a church exactly like that: the Church of St Stephen’s, Walbrook, in the City of London. When he met the patrons of the church and they asked him what he’d do once he was appointed, he said, ‘Well, I’d set up a telephone hotline.’ They thought it was a great idea.

On his way to the church, Reverend Varah was thinking: ‘What would be the best number for this hotline?’ He wanted something that could be easily memorised. He knew that the first three characters would be letters (that was how phone numbers worked back then), so, as the local area was called Mansion House, the letters would be M-A-N. He wondered, ‘What could the numbers be, in order to give it a hint of emergency? Something like 999.’ He decided that the perfect number would be ‘MAN 9000’ – easily memorable, with a hint of emergency.

Man 9000

Chad Varah set up the Samaritans

hotline (a phone number that

anyone can ring at any time if they

are in distress)

LOOK!


70

He found the church telephone buried under some rubble in the vestry. Once he salvaged it, he dialled the operator and tried to persuade her to give him the phone number ‘MAN 9000’. (It was likely that this number already belonged to someone else.)

When he asked if it might be possible to change the church’s number to ‘MAN 9000’, she explained that it was very unlikely: ‘Someone with a number as memorable as that wouldn’t change it for love nor money.’ Reverend Varah said, ‘I have no money, but I have plenty of love! Would you tell me who the number “MAN 9000” belongs to so I can contact them myself?’

The operator asked him where he was calling from, and he realised he didn’t even know the church’s number. He wiped the dust from the phone handset and saw, in clear print, ‘MAN 9000’!

After explaining this coincidence to the operator, Reverend Varah said to God, ‘I get the message! You had this planned even before the telephone was installed. Now please stop with the coincidences, because it’s getting weird!’

LOOK!

Somebody calls the Samaritans every 20 seconds


71

WHAT ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT?72

1WEEKENDSESSION

73

THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS OFTEN BEEN MISUNDERSTOOD. WHO DO YOU THINK THE HOLY SPIRIT IS?Perhaps one of the reasons for the misunderstanding is because older versions of the Bible call him the ‘Holy Ghost’, which sounds a little scary!

But the Holy Spirit is not a ‘ghost’ at all – the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity (God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit)

LOOK!

As we spend time with God we

become more like him.

WEEKEND SESSION 1 WHAT ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT?

74

The Holy Spirit appears throughout the whole Bible

• The Hebrew word for Holy Spirit is ‘ruach’, which means ‘breath’. In Genesis, the Holy Spirit is described as God’s breath – breathing life into things, including us!

• After Jesus’ resurrection, he promised that his disciples would receive the Holy Spirit. On one particular day, now called Pentecost, the disciples were praying together and suddenly the Holy Spirit came and filled them in an amazing way. From there they went out and literally changed the world!

The Holy Spirit makes us part of God's family

• When we become a Christian, we are made part of God’s family, and a family likeness begins to show in our character – this is called, ‘the fruit of the spirit’ in the Bible

The Holy Spirit gives us gifts

• The Holy Spirit helps us understand God. The Holy Spirit also helps us to pray and gives us 'spiritual gifts'

LOOK!

The Bible talks about spiritual gifts

in 1 Corinthians 12. Each of us is

given different gifts to help us play

our part in life.

WHAT ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT? WEEKEND SESSION 1

75

An electric plug on its own is fairly

useless – it needs to be connected

to a power source. God’s Spirit

is the power source that we, as

Christians, can connect to, and not

just as a one-off, but all the time.

There is no deep renewal in our lives unless we open

ourselves and let the Spirit come into our lives. He

wants to. He wants for us to open the door. I hope this

day many of you will open the door to the Holy Spirit.

fATheR RANIeRO

CANTAlAMeSSA SAID...

(CAThOlIC PRIeST AND PReACheR TO The POPe)


76

lOVE,JOY,PATIENCE,

KINDNESS,GOODNESS,fAITHfUlNESS, GENTlENESS,

SElf-CONTROl.AND

PEACE,

The fruit of the Spirit is

Against such things there is no law.

[Galatians 5:22–23]


77

DOES THE IDEA Of THE HOlY SPIRIT SEEM POSITIVE TO YOU?


78

Maybe there are things going on in your life – worries, fears, situations where you’d love someone to come alongside you and help, or just be there with you. The Holy Spirit is the one who draws alongside us, to be the encourager, the comforter and the counsellor.

TRy wRITINg DOwN SOMe ThINgS ThAT ARe wORRyINg yOu

AND PuT TODAy’S DATe By TheM. TheN ASk The hOly SPIRIT

TO helP yOu wITh TheM. IN A few DAyS OR weekS See If TheRe

hAS BeeN A DIffeReNCe AND wRITe DOwN The ChANge AND DATe IT.

keeP ASkINg The hOly SPIRIT fOR helP, AND keeP CheCkINg TO See

whAT’S hAPPeNeD AND MAke A NOTe.


79

HOW CAN I BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?80

2WEEKENDSESSION

81

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT? Is it the same as becoming a Christian?

In the New Testament, Paul writes, ‘Be filled with the [Holy] Spirit’ (Ephesians 5:18). The original Greek translation of this means, ‘go on being filled’.

LOOK!

God doesn’t want us to just have a little bit

of his Spirit; he wants us to be filled so that

we shine brightly, giving off love and light to

those around us.

WEEKEND SESSION 2 HOW CAN I BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?

82

Can anything stop us from being filled?• God wants to fill all his children with his Holy Spirit, but sometimes we

put up barriers that make it difficult for this to happen. We might feel doubtful, be scared, or think we’re not good enough

But God knew we might think these things, so he told us in the Bible:

• ‘Everyone who asks shall receive’ – and that means you and me (Luke 11:9–10)

• He is our Father and wants to give us good gifts (Luke 11:11–13)

• Jesus said, ‘How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’ (Luke 11:13)

• So all we have to do is ask him – easy!

What happens when peopleexperience the Holy Spirit?

• In the Bible, we see that good things happen when people are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44–46)

• It’s not all just about feelings or experiences though. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is about entering into a deeper relationship with Jesus himself

LOOK!

Being filled with the Spirit

shouldn’t just be a one-off

experience: Paul wanted

everyone to be constantly

filled and refilled.

HOW CAN I BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT? WEEKEND SESSION 2

83

ROBBIe wIllIAMS SANg...

I just wanna feel real love.

Bart, with $10,000,

we'd be millionaires!

We could buy all

kinds of useful things

like...love!

hOMeR SIMPSON SAID...


84

[Ephesians 5:18]

WITHTHESPIRIT.

INSTEAD BE

fIllED


85

IS IT POSSIBlE TO ACTUAllY LOVE GOD?


86




87

From the age of fourteen or fifteen, Shane Taylor carried a knife. He had a fascination with guns and knives – mainly knives. He finally got caught, and the charge was Section 20 – GBH. Shane was nineteen. He got Section 20 for two stabbings, a couple of affrays and carrying offensive weapons. He was sentenced to four years.

In his own words Shane describes himself as ‘crazy, doing loads of violent and mad things. I was the madman that everyone looked up to – and I had a gang of people who would do what I asked them to do.’

Shane ended up in a maximum-security prison in the segregation unit and finally in the ‘CSC’ (Close Supervision Centre).

Whilst in prison, he found himself at an Alpha Course. Here’s what he had to say about it:

‘My intention wasn’t to find God. I was thinking, “Free coffee, chocolate biscuits and cake!”

I settled down quite quickly and began to turn up to each of the sessions. I was mostly interested in getting the chocolate biscuits and having little debates, saying things like, “Science proves that it’s wrong …”

Eventually we got to the Holy Spirit day. After we’d watched the talk and had our discussion everyone sat down and we each got prayed for.

The minister, Eddie Baker, put his hand on my head and prayed for me but nothing particularly happened.

Later on I was making a cup of coffee when he came up to me and said, “I’ve never done this

Shane’s story

The prisoners in the CSC unit are so

dangerous that there can be no physical

contact between them and the prison

officers.

fACT:


88

in all the years I’ve worked here, but I think God is telling me to tell you to come back here this afternoon.”

I said, “All right then, I’ll come.” I remember saying to myself, “If it’s real then prove it.” I went to the church that afternoon and Eddie was there waiting for me. He picked up a Bible and opened up a few verses where it said something like, “Jesus Christ died on a cross for you. He died for your sins and you can be forgiven.”

Then Eddie put his hand on my head and prayed for me. Then he said, “Now you pray.”

I said, “What about?”

And he said, “From your heart – let it out and pray.”

I said, “Jesus Christ, I know you died on a cross for me. Please, I don’t like who I am, please forgive me, please.” I said a few other things, which I can’t remember now. And then I sat back and we started talking.

As I talked I started to feel a weird feeling in my belly. I thought, “What’s that?” But I kept talking to him. Then I started to feel this bubbly feeling slowly coming up my body – through my legs, my chest. When it got to about halfway I started to feel tears coming into my eyes.

I tried to hold it back. I stopped talking, thinking that was going to stop it, because I didn’t want to cry. Here I was, a hard man in prison – I didn’t want to cry.

But it rose up and up and up until suddenly I began crying my eyes out. I hadn’t cried in years. I cried for about five minutes and I could feel a weight being lifted off me because I felt light. Eddie said in a nice voice, “That’s the Holy Spirit. It’s Jesus.” ’

Shane attends a local church with his wife Sam. They have two daughters, Angel and Grace. Shane says, 'I never believed God would give me a lovely family. God is great.’


89

HOW CAN I MAKE THE MOST OF THE REST OF MY LIFE?90

3WEEKENDSESSION

91

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS LEADING THEIR LIFE WELL? WHAT MAKES THEM STAND OUT TO YOU? The ‘rest of our lives’ seems like a pretty long time – but we only get one life, no matter who we are. So it’s definitely worth thinking about how we’re going to live it – not just what job we’ll aim for, but the kind of person that we will be.

What should we do?

• The strange, but amazing thing about God’s way of doing things is that it can sometimes seem upside-down in comparison to the ways of the world

• It is tough living for God in today’s world, especially at school

• The way to make the most of our lives is to ask God for help

WEEKEND SESSION 3 HOW CAN I MAKE THE MOST OF THE REST OF MY LIFE?

92

How do we live differently?

• We can pray to God and offer all areas of our life to him: our time, our dreams, our questions, what we watch, what we look at online, what we say, what we do … If we do this, we will live life to the fullest

• This is not the easiest way to live, but Jesus promises to be with us and give us life (John 10:10)

LOOK!

LOOK!

It can be easy to let peer pressure squeeze

and force us to ‘fit the mould’ of everyone

else. For example, if someone’s mean to

us, then the standard is that we should be

mean back – simple right? But Jesus says

we should be loving back ...

The secret is to let God improve

us from the inside out.

HOW CAN I MAKE THE MOST OF THE REST OF MY LIFE? WEEKEND SESSION 3

93

MARk TwAIN SAID...

(MARk TwAIN IS AN AMeRICAN

AuThOR whO wROTe The

ADveNTuReS Of TOM SAwyeR)

wINNIe The POOh SAID...

(A.A. MIlNe, wROTe wINNIe The POOh)

If you live to be a hundred, I want to

live to be a hundred minus one day, so

I never have to live without you.

Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never

been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live

like it's heaven on earth.


94

[Hebrews 12:1, ERV]

We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us

So we, too, should

We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall.

RUN THERACE

WHAT fAITH MEANS.

that is before us and never quit.


95

HOW DO YOU

DEAl WITH PEER

PRESSURE?


96

We can pray to God and offer all areas of our life to him: our time, our dreams, our questions, what we watch, what we look at online, what we say, what we do … If we do this, we will live life to the fullest.

why DON’T yOu wRITe DOwN yOuR ThOughTS ...


97

HOW CAN I RESIST EVIL?98

7SESSION

99

WHERE DOES EVIL COME FROM? The New Testament tells us that just as God is behind all that is good in the world, the devil is behind all that is evil.

Why should we believe in the devil?

• It is clear from the horror and evil in our world that the devil exists

• The Bible speaks of him in the Old Testament and in the New Testament

• Beware of taking too much of an interest in the devil – that is just as dangerous as doubting that he exists

• The devil’s aim is to steal our freedom and destroy us (John 10:10). He wants to prevent us from having a proper relationship with God, and will do anything he can to stop this

LOOK!

Have you ever noticed

that if you add one letter

to the word ‘God’, you

get ‘good’ and if you add

one letter to the word

‘evil’ you get ‘devil’?

SESSION 7 HOW CAN I RESIST EVIL?

100

So how do we attack?

• By praying. The Bible says, ‘The weapons I fight with are not the weapons the world uses. In fact, it is just the opposite. My weapons have the power of God to destroy the camps of the enemy’ (2 Corinthians 10:4, NIrV)

• By action. We attack the devil by doing the things that Jesus told us to do (Luke 7:22) and putting on the ‘spiritual armour’ that God provides us with (Ephesians 6:10–17)

• By talking. The devil doesn’t want us to be free. He hates it when we pray to God and tell those we trust about our struggles, as he knows that this can set us free from guilt, shame and confusion

Should we be worried?

• No, not at all! Jesus is all powerful and he has set us free. We have all the forces of heaven on our side, so we have nothing to fear

• The Bible tells us that there is a kind of spiritual war going on that we can’t see (Ephesians 6.11–12), but when Jesus died on the cross he won the war

LOOK!

Jesus has completely defeated the

devil, but there are still battles

going on, and, as soldiers in God’s

army we are involved in these (Luke

10:17–20).

HOW CAN I RESIST EVIL? SESSION 7

101

There are two equal and opposite errors into which

we can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in

their existence; the other is to believe and to feel

an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They

themselves are equally pleased by both errors.

C.S. lewIS SAID...


102

[Romans 12:21, NIrV]

Don't let evil overcome you.

evil by doing good.OVERCOME


103

WHY DO YOU THINK THE WORlD IS IN SUCH A MESS?


104

Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch Christian, who survived the Holocaust in World War II. She had been imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II because she and her family had been hiding Jews and helping them escape from the Nazis. One of the concentration camps that she and her sister, Betsie, were imprisoned in was called Ravensbrück. Betsie died in this concentration camp.

After the war, Corrie travelled the world, speaking about her experience. Here is what happened to her on one such occasion:

‘It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, a former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbrück. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie's pain-blanched face.

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein.” He said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!” His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? “Lord Jesus”, I prayed, “forgive me and help me to forgive him.” I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. “Jesus”, I prayed, “I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness.”

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives − along with the command, the love itself.’

Adapted from www.ecclesia.org/truth/corrie

The story of Corrie Ten Boom


105

WHY AND HOW SHOULD I TELL OTHERS?106

SESSION8107

THINK ABOUT ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU – HOW QUICKLY DID YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR GOOD NEWS WITH SOMEONE ELSE?

SESSION 8 WHY AND HOW SHOULD I TELL OTHERS?

108

Why should we tell other people about our faith in Jesus?

• ONE REASON Because Jesus wants us to. After he rose from the dead, he said to go and tell everyone the amazing news that they can be forgiven; they can be set free from the bad stuff holding them back; they can have eternal life.

• ANOTHER REASON Because we love our friends and family. Love must be what motivates us, because we want people to discover all the joy, peace and new life that we have found in Jesus.

• A THIRD REASON Because it is good news! We can’t just keep it to ourselves.

Right from the start, it is good to recognise two possible extremes: either trying to force our views down other people’s throats or keeping silent and never telling anyone about our faith.

The key to avoiding these two extremes is to really care about the person you are telling, and to trust God.

Ask God about what you should say or do and the Holy Spirit will show you when the time is right. He may just want you to be a good friend, or simply invite them to your youth group or church.

WHY AND HOW SHOULD I TELL OTHERS? SESSION 8

109

Live the message

• How we behave and what we say and do, should line up with how we believe Jesus wants us to be. We are called by God to love those around us, to love the poor and to stand up against injustice

HOW CAN WE SHARE OUR FAITH?

LOOK!

If you don’t know the answer to a question someone asks

you about God, don’t worry, and don’t pretend you do!

Just be willing to go away and find out. Some questions

are so huge, that even though there are lots of books

written on them, still no one has an absolute answer for

them!


110

Talk the message

• There is no formula for how to speak about your faith – the important thing is to tell your story and just be natural. Never use force and don’t pressurise people, or they might not want to talk to you about it again

Present the message

• It is easy to think, ‘What difference could I possibly make?’ But we are all simply called to tell people about our personal experience of God – people love hearing others’ stories

Trust the message

• God still does miracles today, and we shouldn’t be afraid to ask him to show his power to people through miracles – big and small!

Pray the message

• We can pray that people would be open to the truth about God and that God would give us courage to start talking about our faith, or that someone would just ask us first!


111

As a race we feel empty because our spirituality has

been wiped out and we don’t know how to express

ourselves. And as a result we’re encouraged to fill

that gap with alcohol, drugs, sex or money. People out

there are screaming for the truth.

Preach the gospel at

all times; if necessary,

use words.

SAINT fRANCIS

Of ASSISI SAID...

(1182-1226)

SINeAD O’CONNOR SAID...

(She IS AN IRISh SINgeR-SONgwRITeR

whO SANg ‘NOThINg COMPAReS 2 u’)


112

[Romans 10:14–15, ERV]

But before people can pray to the Lord for help, they MUST BElIEVE IN HIM. And before they can believe in the Lord, they must HEAR ABOUT HIM. And for anyone to hear about the Lord,

SOMEONE MUST TEll THEM.

As the Scriptures say, “How wonderful it is to see someone coming to tell good news!”

BE SENT.And before anyone can go and tell them, they must


113

If YOU DID NOT KNOW

ANYTHING AT All ABOUT

CHRISTIANITY, HOW WOUlD

YOU lIKE TO fIND OUT

ABOUT IT?


114

A man was walking along a beach in Mexico when he saw a remarkable sight – the beach was covered in tens of thousands of starfish! The tide had gone out and left them stranded on the beach, dying in the heat of the sun. The man saw a young boy standing among the starfish. The boy was picking them up one at a time, running down to the sea and throwing them into the water, before going back to get another starfish and repeating the process again.

The man went up to him and said, ‘Look, can’t you see – there are tens of thousands of starfish out here! I don’t really think what you’re doing is going to make any difference.’

The young boy picked up another starfish, went down to the water’s edge, threw it in the sea and said, ‘I bet it made a difference for that one!’

One starfish at a time

We may not be able to change the world on our own, but we can help the lives of people around us, one by one.

COulD yOu TRy DOINg ONe Of TheSe IN The NeXT week?

• PRAy fOR A fRIeND

• MAke AN effORT TO TAlk TO A lONely OR BullIeD PeRSON

AT SChOOl

• ASk A fRIeND TO A yOuTh eveNT AT yOuR ChuRCh

• ASk gOD TO gIve yOu The OPPORTuNITy TO Tell SOMeBODy

The STORy Of hOw yOu CAMe TO Be A ChRISTIAN


115

DOES GOD HEAL TODAY?116

9SESSION117

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT GOD CAN HEAL PEOPLE TODAY?

Healing in the Bible

• If we read the Bible we will see that God heals people. A quarter of the Gospels are about healing!

• God said in the Old Testament, ‘I am the God who heals you’ (Exodus 15:26)

• Jesus sent his disciples out to pray for healing. As Jesus went up to heaven, he told his disciples to go and do what he did (Matthew 28:16–20)

• So that includes all Christians today

SESSION 9 DOES GOD HEAL TODAY?

118

How do we pray for healing?

• Our job is to pray and ask God to heal – it is God who then does the healing

• Prayers for healing should be simple, not long and complicated. Remember, it is God’s power, not the number of our words, that heal

• If nothing seems to happen or if the person is only partially healed, don’t give up. Even Jesus sometimes had to pray twice (Mark 8:22–26)! We shouldn’t feel discouraged if we need to keep praying

• When healing doesn’t happen, we need to remember that we still have to wait to see the kingdom of God come fully on earth, which will be when Jesus returns. What does that mean exactly? It’s tricky, but essentially it means that when Jesus came to earth around 2000 years ago, the healings he did were a sign that the kingdom of God had arrived, but it hasn’t yet fully arrived

Healing in History

• The earliest churches believed healing was possible and so, like the original disciples, they just went ahead and prayed for it. The church has been praying for the sick and seeing God perform miracles ever since

LOOK!

God can heal our

bodies, and he can

also heal other types

of hurts too, whether

it’s emotional pain

or any other kind

of pain. Nothing is

impossible for God.

DOES GOD HEAL TODAY? SESSION 9

119

God does not give, or even allow, sickness in order to

teach us something. However, he turns all things for good

for those who love him. So if you are sick, ask God what

he wants to teach you through it and how you can bless

others as a result. The devil is the author of sickness and

his plan is to make you blame God and turn from him and

make you focus on yourself and your sickness and how

unfair it all is. Pray and seek your healing from the living

God who heals. It’s part of his DNA to heal, so praying

these prayers are in line with his character – but be

patient, and persistent, pursuing him, as his timing is very

often different to ours. Seek first his kingdom.

PATRICk PeARSON MIleS...

(hAS ‘ChRONIC ReNAl fAIluRe’ whICh BASICAlly MeANS hIS

kIDNeyS DON’T wORk AT All - he hASN’T hAD A Pee SINCe 1994!

he DevelOPeD kIDNey DISeASe AgeD 17; 1O yeARS lATeR hIS

kIDNeyS PACkeD uP). he SAID ThIS:


120

[Exodus 15:26]

lORDTHE

HEAlS YOU.

I am the

who


121

WHY DO YOU

THINK JESUS

HEAlED PEOPlE?


122




123

Ajay Gohill was born in Kenya but moved to England in 1971. He was brought up as a Hindu and worked in the family business as a newsagent in Neasden. At the age of twenty-one he contracted Erythrodermic Psoriasis, a chronic skin disease. His weight dropped from 11.5 stone [73 kg] to 7.5 stone [47.5 kg]. He received treatment all over the world – in the United States, Germany, Switzerland and Israel, as well as all over England. He spent 80 per cent of his earnings trying to find a cure and took strong drugs which affected his liver. Eventually, he had to give up his job. The disease covered his body from head to toe; he says he was so horrible to look at, he couldn’t even wear a t-shirt. He lost all his friends, and his wife and son left him. He wanted to die.

One October, Ajay was lying in his hospital bed. He cried out, ‘God, if you are watching, let me die – I am sorry if I have done something wrong.’ From his locker he pulled out a Good News Bible. He opened it at random and read Psalm 38:

‘O Lord, don’t punish me in your anger! You have wounded me with your arrows; you have struck me down. Because of your anger, I am in great pain; my whole body is diseased because of my sins. I am drowning in the flood of my sins; they are a burden too heavy to bear. Because I have been foolish, my sores stink and rot. I am bowed down, I am crushed; I mourn all day long.

Ajay’s Story


124

I am burning with fever and I am near to death. I am worn out and utterly crushed; my heart is troubled and I groan with pain. O Lord, you know what I long for; you hear all my groans. My heart is pounding, my strength is gone, and my eyes have lost their brightness. My friends and neighbours will not come near me, because of my sores; even my family keeps away from me … Do not abandon me, O God; do not stay away from me, my God! Help me now, O Lord my saviour!’ (Psalm 38:1–11, 21–22,Good News Bible).

Each and every verse seemed relevant to him. He prayed for God to heal him, and then he fell into a deep sleep. When he awoke the next morning ‘everything looked new’. He took a bath and when he looked at the water, he saw his skin had lifted off his body and was floating. He called in the nurses and told them that God was healing him: all of his skin was new, like a baby’s. He was totally healed and has since been reunited with his son. Ajay says that the inner healing that has taken place in his life is even greater than the physical healing. He says, ‘Every day I live for Jesus. I am his servant today.’


125

'From the age of about 15–19, I had around 33 warts on my right hand. Some were quite painful. They were really quite visible and obvious on my hand and I was super-aware of them. I tried everything to get them to go, from creams to having them painfully iced at the doctors, but they never seemed to budge. I remember my mum saying she’d like to pray for them but I remember also getting quite annoyed with her and saying, What difference would that make? Didn’t she realise how painful and deep rooted they were? I didn’t really believe in the reality of God then and am certainly sure I didn’t believe in the power of prayer. The people at my work during my gap year even teased me and called me leper, refusing to shake my hand sometimes, all in jest but it definitely got to me after a while …

That summer, at the end of my gap year, I went on a trip with the youth group I was loosely involved with, to Tanzania, which was really eye-opening and great fun. Because of work commitments I had to come back a week earlier than all the other youth. Half way through that week, I woke up one day and over the course of the day was able to just peel my warts off my hand with no pain. It was almost as if there was some special liquid on them and by the end of the day they’d all come off.

Ali's Story


126

What was awesome was that the next day it was almost as if they’d not been there at all, no scars …

I thought it was cool and when the youth group came back, including my 16 year old sister, I mentioned to her that, ‘by the way my warts have all gone.’

She said to me that she’d really felt that she should pray for my warts while out in Africa, and had got the whole youth group together to pray, and lo and behold at the same time, the same week, they’d all come off my hand.

I dismissed it as coincidence but I remember her challenging me and saying no, this time I couldn’t just dismiss it, that she felt it was God showing how real and powerful he was to me … and for the first time in my life, I think I truly believed in a God who was real, powerful and able to change things in my life, and a God who heard our prayers and had the power to heal.'


127

WHAT ABOUT THE CHURCH? 10128

10SESS

ION129

WHAT IS THE CHURCH?JUST ANOTHER CLUB?A TYPE OF BUILDING? SOMEWHERE TO WASTE A COUPLE OF HOURS ON A SUNDAY MORNING? POINTLESS...?OR, IS IT MUCH, MUCH MORE…?

The people of God

• The Bible tells us that the ‘church’ is made up of people, not buildings (1 Peter 2:9)

• It’s a great idea to join a church and to be part of a Christian youth group. It’s about having friendships with other people to encourage and help each other

Jesus was passionate about the church and the New Testament is packed full of images of what the church should be like. Here are a few:

LOOK!

Being a Christian is about having

a relationship with God, but it is

also about having relationships

with other people.

SESSION 10 WHAT ABOUT THE CHURCH?

130

The family of God

• Have you heard the saying, ‘You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family’? It’s the same with the family of God – we may be very different and we might find it hard to get along with some people, but we are called to love one another and forgive one another

• Sometimes family members argue. It’s the same in the church. Denominations do not always agree, but we are all still part of God’s family and should try and focus on the things we agree do about

The body of Christ

• Just as different parts of the human body have their own jobs to do, we are all given different gifts by God to use in the church

• We can ask God to show us our gifts so we can play our part in God’s family. We might have the gift of encouraging others or a passion for justice and fairness

LOOK!

Do you ever get really upset deep inside when

you see someone being bullied at school?

That’s because it’s not fair and God has given

you compassion for them.

WHAT ABOUT THE CHURCH? SESSION 10

131

ABRAhAM lINCOlN SAID...

(ABRAhAM lINCOlN wAS PReSIDeNT Of

The uSA, 1861–1865)

If all the people who

fell asleep in church

on Sunday morning

were laid out end to

end … they would be

a great deal more

comfortable.


132

[1 Peter 2:9]

CHOSENA HOlYNATION,

But you are a

PEOPlE, a ROYAl priesthood,

a people belonging to God.


133

WHAT PART ARE YOU GOING TO PlAY IN GOD’S CHURCH?


134

What do you think your gifts from God are?

why DON’T yOu SPeND

A few MINuTeS

ThINkINg ABOuT

ThAT AND TheN PuT A

CIRCle AROuND The

ONeS yOu ThINk yOu

hAve ... OR wOulD lIke!

TheN ASk gOD fOR

ThAT gIfT.

PRAYING

ENCOURAGINGCARING

MERCY SERVINGKNOWlEDGE

lEADERSHIPfRIENDSHIPHOSPITAlITY

WISDOMJOY PROPHECY

DISCERNMENT

fAITHTEACHINGHEAlING

GIVING

GIVING

HElP


135

PRAYER OF COMMITMENTThere were once two little boys who were best friends. They played together, went to school together, they even went to university together. They were inseparable, until their careers took them in very different directions.

One became a lawyer, the other a criminal. While one eventually became a judge, the other disappeared deeper and deeper into a life of crime. Eventually the criminal was caught and sent to trial.

On the fateful day in the courtroom, he came face to face with his old, best friend the judge.

So the judge had a dilemma. He loved his friend but he had to do justice.

So the judge handed down the appropriate penalty for the offence – a huge fine. There was no way that his old friend could ever afford to pay what he owed.

But then the judge took off his robes, went down, stood with his friend, and wrote out a cheque covering the cost.

He paid the penalty himself.

The judge and his friend

136

That, in a way, is a bit like us and God. God loves us, but at the same time, there needed to be a price paid for the bad stuff we have done. God can’t just say (just like that judge couldn’t just say), ‘It’s okay, don’t worry about it,’ because it’s not okay. But like the judge, God paid the penalty himself – through Jesus.

Jesus’ death on the cross took away our bad stuff and made us clean again.

It means that God is no longer separated from us, and we can begin a relationship with him

It says in the Bible ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.’ John 3:16 (NIrV)

If you feel that you would like to ask Jesus to come into your life and to forgive your sins, then here is a short prayer that you can say.

Father in Heaven, I don’t know you or your love, but I want to. Lord Jesus, I want to follow you from today and for you to be my friend. Thank you for the true life and forgiveness you won for me on the cross: the freedom and the life I was born for. Holy Spirit please bring God’s love to my heart now. I am yours forever.

Amen.

If you said that prayer, then tell someone who is a Christian about it – maybe someone in your church, or your youth group leader or a family member.

137

HANDY LOOK UP PAGEThere might be some phrases or words that we’ve put in the chapters that make you think ‘what on earth are they talking about?’ – so we’ve tried to define some of them here to help you out.

Where you see a word in the book coloured in like this then you’ll be able to look it up below:

HANDY L K UP PAGE

AMEN

Christians finish their prayers by saying ‘in the name of Jesus. Amen.’ Amen is a Hebrew word. It means ‘so be it’ (or ‘God, please answer my prayer!’). We pray ‘in the name of Jesus’ – because he is the reason that we can talk openly to God.

ARCHBISHOP

This is the title given to the chief bishop – he oversees all the other Church of England clerics.

THE BIBLE

This is the book that Christians refer to and believe is God’s word – you can learn more about it in Session 5. It is one big book that is made up of sixty-six little books (quite often named after the person who wrote the book, but sometimes named after the place, or people that it was written to.)

The Bible is split into two sections – the Old Testament and the New Testament.

138

BIBLE REFERENCES (EG, JOHN 14:6)

Where we’ve put something like ‘John 14:6’ we’re referring to a passage in the Bible – the word or name is the name of the book in the Bible (there are lots), then the first number is the chapter in that book, and the second number is the verse in the chapter. Get a Bible and have a look, then you’ll see what we mean.

CHRISTIANITY

The belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

CHRISTIANS

These people are followers of Jesus Christ (Christ-ians).

CHURCH

Church can refer to a building where services are held, but ‘the church’ is actually the name for all Christians together; It’s the family of God.

THE CROSS

Jesus was put to death on a cross. The cross was basically two huge planks of wood in the shape of a cross. Jesus’ hands were nailed to the horizontal plank and his feet were nailed to the vertical one. He was left hanging there until he died. This form of execution was called crucifixion.

CRUCIFIxION

See under ‘the cross’.

DENOMINATIONS

These are different groups within Christianity eg, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of England, Pentecostal, Orthodox. Different denominations often have a distinct style of doing church, such as style of worship, communion and prayers.

THE DEvIL

Sometimes referred to as Satan. The devil is described as a liar and the father of lies. He is described in the Bible as a fallen angel. His ultimate goal is to lead people away from God.

139

FAITH

Choosing to trust and believe in something that you can’t immediately see or touch. Faith is like trust.

THE GOSPEL

This is the good news of Jesus Christ, who came to earth to reveal God the father to us and to save us from our sins. God sent him to take on the punishment for our sins, to die instead of us, so that we can call God Father and receive the gift of eternal life in heaven. That’s the gospel, and it’s all because of Jesus.

GOSPELS

These are the first four books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They are called the Gospels because they all tell the story of the good news of Jesus Christ (his birth, his life, his death and resurrection). Gospel translates from the Greek word 'euangelion', which means ‘good news’.

HOLOCAUST (WORLD WAR II)

The mass killing of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a programme of systematic, state-sponsored murder by Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, throughout Nazi-occupied territory. Of the nine million Jews who had resided in Europe before the Holocaust, approximately two-thirds were killed. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust)

HOLY SPIRIT

The third person of the Trinity, the Spirit of God. When we become Christians, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. The Holy Spirit helps us to feel God’s presence in our lives and also helps us to hear God’s voice and think of the words to say to God. (Plus a whole lot more. See Weekend sessions 1 and 2).

JESUS CHRIST

Jesus was the Son of God – you can learn more about him in sessions 1 and 2.

MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, JOHN

See under ‘Gospels’.

140

THE NEW TESTAMENT

A record of everything that happened from Jesus Christ’s birth to a little time after his death. It includes the teaching and miracles of Jesus and talks about how we should live our lives, even now.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

This is the first part of the Bible. It is … well …really old and it records stuff that happened before Jesus Christ was born.

THE POPE

The Pope is head of the Roman Catholic Church and is the Bishop of Rome. He lives in the Vatican in the Vatican City which is in Rome, Italy.

PROPHECY/PROPHECIES

A prediction or foretelling of the future. In Christianity it is often a message of truth that reveals God’s will for a person or a group of people. Christian prophecy should be uplifting and encouraging and is one of the spiritual gifts.

RESURRECTION

After Jesus was crucified on the cross, he was buried in a grave. But after being dead for three days – he came back to life. He appeared to quite a few people but after that he went to be with God in heaven. This is called the resurrection.

REvEREND

The official title given to vicars in the Church of England. In some churches they are also called pastors.

SIN

The bad stuff that we all do. Maybe it’s being mean to someone, or being jealous of someone – so not just the serious stuff that we can go to prison for.

TRINITY

This is the word used to describe God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is something that is three (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) but also one (God) – a bit like water, ice and steam – all are H2O, but each is different too.

141

ISBN: 978 1 905887 95 8

12 5

505

12 0

19 781905 887958

© Alpha International 2012Youth AlphaA ministry of Alpha [email protected]

In partnership with

Youth for Christ

‘If it turned out that God exists and you could ask God one question, right now, what would it be?’

The Youth Alpha course looks at some of the big questions about the Christian faith like:

This manual accompanies the course, highlighting the main points, and giving you a few

more things to think about as well – quotes, stories and real-life testimonies.

We think you’ll find it interesting…

Why didJesus die?

Why didJesus die?

Does Godheal today?Does God

heal today?How doesGod guide

us?

How doesGod guide

us?

alpha guide - younger youth

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